


Crystal Swan

by YuriEvansFCY



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crystal Gems, Foster Care, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, there's a space between running from Ingrid and meeting Neal and I'm gonna fill it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 06:50:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18889366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuriEvansFCY/pseuds/YuriEvansFCY
Summary: After running from Ingrid, Emma Swan hops a train and ends up in Delmarva, where she happens upon Beach City -- and the colorful citizens who inhabit it. Among them is Rose Quartz, a human-loving Crystal Gem who instantly takes a shine to her. Has Emma finally found her safe haven? A place she can belong? Or has she just traded in old problems for newer, wackier ones? There were never any gem mutants in Minnesota...Emma & Crystal Gems friendship. Emma & Greg, Emma & Vidalia. Canon SU pairings.





	Crystal Swan

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly can't believe this hasn't been done before. Can't promise regular updates because I started this in mid-late February and only finished this chapter three months later, but... I gotta get this out there. I do have ideas as to where I want to go with it, though! So without further ado, I give you Crystal Swan.

**A/N: Emma Swan Quartz AU**

* * *

_Delmarva, 1999_

Below a starry open sky, Emma Swan breathed heavily in the field as the train rumbled past on the tracks. She brushed off the straw that clung to her jacket and wool hat and hugged herself tight, little puffs of air clouding in the autumn evening. Minnesota was now two days behind her, but thanks to her hasty jump and tumble, she was aching and cold and she didn't know exactly where she was.

It was a small price to pay to get away from everything. Better to leap from a train than be dragged into the path of an oncoming car.

Adjusting her wool cap over her ears, Emma turned to study her surroundings. This place was pretty scenic; did it have log cabins or something nearby? She'd need to find shelter soon, now that she'd abandoned her ride.

And her… well, her  _foster_ home.

It'd been about a week since she ran away from Richfield and never looked back. Minnesota was nothing but a series of "could've" and "buts" for her. She could've been chosen at the orphanage, but there was always someone younger than her. Could've lived freely with a best friend who understood, but Lily was a liar who actually had parents looking for her. Could've had a foster family who loved and trusted her, but Lily showed up and robbed them blind.

Most recently, she could've finally been adopted, could've finally had someone steady to rely on... but then Ingrid had to ruin everything by insisting she had powers and almost  _killing_  her.

After that, all she'd wanted was to go somewhere far away. Somewhere Lily and Ingrid and all their issues would never find her. So, in the spirit of Harry Potter, she'd hopped a train in Minneapolis and let it take her anywhere else.

Obviously this wasn't Hogwarts. It wasn't Richfield either. The air smelled like fields and faintly of ocean, like the nights Emma stood outside her group home in Boston wondering if she should just give up and run away again. It was for that reason the east coast had an unmistakable bittersweet scent to it she could never forget.

But where…?

Only one way to find out. Emma shifted her backpack on her shoulder and started walking down the dirt path, towards a glow of city light in the distance.

Passing through the trees, she picked up a stick from the ground and swished it around, pretending she was a witch exploring the Forbidden Forest. Safely stored away in her bag was her copy of  _Sorcerer's Stone,_ which she'd been rereading the past couple of days. Though it kept her thoughts busy during the train ride, now it just made her think of Ingrid even more.

There were no lights shooting out of her "wand," no spells stilling the water as she crossed the river on an overturned tree. She couldn't say " _Lumos"_ and light up the area when she heard twigs snapping or other suspicious noises. It would be way cool if she could, but magic was fiction. Ingrid said it herself that night. She really had to be out of her mind if she thought Emma had any special powers.

 _Only someone like that would ever want you,_  said a voice in her head.  _You're no one special. You're just like the rest of us._

_All alone._

Once again, Deidre was right. That bully from her first group home in Minnesota. She hated thinking about her after all these years, but she was right.

It was her birthday, and she was alone.

To think, a week before, she actually believed she'd be celebrating with her soon-to-be adoptive mother. Imagine,  _Emma Swan,_ spending her sweet sixteenth inside a warm house with cocoa and cupcakes and family. What a joke.

The forest opened up into a vast, rolling field. She could see telephone lines and occasional headlights drifting through the darkness, highlighting a town sign. Beyond that, a water tower stood tall above some trees on the other side of the road. Finally she was getting somewhere.

Her stomach growled. Shouldn't have gotten herself thinking about food.

Emma reached the edge of the street a few minutes later, just as another car's headlights illuminated the sign on its way out. And another. And one more.

"Now leaving—"

_Flash._

"—Beach City—"

_Flash._

"Sea ya later!"

She smiled faintly at the cartoonish seagull's speech bubble, but then her brow furrowed. Beach City. It didn't tell her much – she'd never even heard of it before. Guess she'd just have to go into town and get a map, figure out where the hell she was... maybe find something to eat.

It was her birthday, after all. She'd saved good money sneaking onto the train instead of hopping a bus somewhere. Besides, it wasn't like Hagrid was going to show up with a frosted cake, and…

Man, she was only making it worse.

The sound of faint electric guitar riffs on the air beckoned Emma onward. The water tower she passed was painted with waves, and when she finally reached town, the first thing she saw to her left was a large boardwalk amusement park labeled "Funland." She was almost surprised it was closed for the season; everything about this place felt like an eternal spring break. Right down to what seemed like a mini concert at the far end of the beach.

It was as if she'd stepped into a liminal space. She kind of liked it. Who would come to look for her here, in a tiny beachside mystery town? It could be her little secret.

Stopping under a streetlight, Emma glanced at a nearby time and temperature sign. 7:42 pm. What was her game plan for tonight? Scope out the place for shelter, maybe. There might be an unused summer beach house she could sleep in if she was lucky. But first, birthday stuff. She patted her pant pockets, searching for the cash she had left over from Ingrid's allowances.

Maybe if she kept a low profile she could stretch this out for a couple of months. End the millennium somewhere peaceful…

"Hi, girlie! Are we a little lost?"

Emma jumped, almost losing the backpack off her shoulder. She turned to see a stocky blonde woman smiling broadly at her, a brown box tucked securely under her arm. The woman gave a hearty laugh at Emma's startled expression.

"Sorry if I scared ya," she said. "It's just that I haven't seen you around before, and I worked at the Beach City Visitor Center long enough to have a keen eye for newbies." With that, she extended her free hand. "Name's Barb!"

Emma stared at Barb's hand for a moment, expertly covering a wince. So much for laying low.

"I'm Emma," she said once she'd composed herself with a smile, and they shook. "Actually, I'm visiting a friend—" ( _if the beach counts as a friend_ ) "—and I'm not sure where the grocery store is…? I just need to pick up some stuff."

"Ah, no problem!" Slinging an arm around Emma's shoulder, she guided her to the right and gestured down the road. "See over there, the sign that says Boardwalk Street? Follow it all the way down so you're heading toward that big cliff. There's a convenience store on the corner of Boardwalk and Thayer. Right behind the T-shirt shop, ya can't miss it."

"Got it," Emma said, adjusting her backpack strap. Barb had a  _really_ strong arm.

"I was just in the area myself," she continued, patting the lid of her box. "Getting a box of donuts for my little girl Sadie and me."

Emma hesitated, looking hopefully at the box and then at Barb. "…Donuts?"

"Bear claws!" Barb clarified, a knowing beam spreading across her cheerful face. "They're a Miller favorite."

"Mine too," Emma said softly. Her stomach growled again, loud enough for the whole town to hear. She blushed profusely but Barb only grinned.

"Well, that's two seagulls with one stone! The Big Donut is so close to the store you could cartwheel to it." To Emma's surprise, she fished her wallet from her pocket and slapped a five dollar bill in her palm. "Go get yourself some bear claws, sister – it's on me!"

Emma blinked, her mind going a bit fuzzy. "Wow… are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. Consider it an investment in the authentic Beach City experience."

"Thanks a lot." Clutching the bill in her fist, she shook her thoughts clear and headed in the direction Barb had pointed.

"No problem," Barb said. Then, as she was nearly a block away, she yelled after her, "JUST TELL THE BIG DONUT THEY MIGHT AS WELL HIRE ME FOR PR!"

Emma shook her head with a small laugh and continued on. What even was this town?

* * *

At the store, Emma had enough allowance money for a small pack of star candles and some matches. Then she bought a single bear claw and took her celebration closer to the ocean. It was after eight now, and the mystery guitarist must've packed up for the night, because the beach was all hers. She sat down on a bench, setting her bags and backpack next to her, and stared up at the sky.

This really must be a liminal space. She'd never seen the stars so clearly anywhere else. The waves crashed against the shore and sprayed a sweet, salty scent into the wind. It was getting kind of cold, even for her jacket, so Emma pulled a ragged blanket from her pack and draped it over her legs.

What a place…

She'd grabbed a map at the store before she left. Apparently Beach City was a town in Delmarva. And at the same time it felt so secluded from Minnesota and the rest of the world that she might as well be in that shack on the rocks – the one where the Dursleys tried to hide Harry from the letters.

Except… she didn't have a Dursley. She didn't have anyone anymore. It was just her tonight.

Was that better?

Emma frowned, her fingers crinkling restlessly at the donut bag. Ingrid was really about to adopt her a week ago. Despite what she said about the sister thing, she would've actually had a mother. But what kind of mother would almost get her child run over? What kind of mom would put her in danger like that? At least her birth mother had the sense to leave her by the  _side_ of the road!

…And  _that_  was a depressing comparison point. She sighed and started determinedly picking the candles free of their packaging. The plastic edge bit at her finger, and she hissed in pain and nursed the wound. Where were those magic powers of hers now, huh?

Hell, she would  _love_ to not have to do things the muggle way. She would  _love_ to be in a world with magic and cool weapons and mystical creatures.

Maybe in a world like that, there would be happy endings. She could do cool stuff like teleport all over the world, or fight epic battles, or use her powers to save the day. Or actually find a family who wanted her. Who wouldn't give her up, or get tired of her, or choose someone else. Who would make her big, warm, scratchy sweaters with family symbols on them like the Weasleys.

Okay, possibly not that last one… but the thought did make her smile a bit.

As it was, Emma didn't use any magic to get the star candles out of their package. She held up the yellow one in triumph, twirling the toothpick end thoughtfully.

Maybe it was safer this way. Maybe she did better on her own.

She placed the candle carefully in the bear claw's frosted center, a little magic wand nestled in pure doughy bliss, and lit the wick. The flame sputtered but ultimately stood strong against the evening breeze. Satisfied, she closed her eyes.

"Make a wish, Emma," she muttered.

And sometimes the people who don't believe in wishes are the ones that have one close at hand. Emma Swan made her wish and blew out the candle before the wax had even begun to drip.

Smoke tickled at her lungs, mixing pleasantly with the sea air, but she didn't open her eyes. She just wanted to pretend… for one more moment…

"Did it work?"

Emma's eyes flew open with a sharp gasp. Why did people in this town keep sneaking up on her?!

When she peeked to her left, she could not believe what she was seeing. A giant,  _majestically_ large woman was leaning over the back of the bench with intense curiosity in her starry black eyes. She had a mane of pink curls –  _natural?_  – spilling over broad shoulders, and was wearing a flowing strapless white gown with a pink gem in her navel. She looked totally unreal.

"Oh," said the giantess, straightening up. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to ask that. Or else it won't come true. Or isn't it when you  _tell_ someone what you wish for…?"

"It won't come true either way," Emma replied doubtfully, still staring at her as she removed the candle. "It's just a wish."

"But it could, and it seems like fun!" she countered. Her voice was softer than Barb's but just as cheerful, kind of melodic and like she was on the cusp of laughter. "Human games, and traditions, are so fascinating to me. That's why I couldn't help but notice you were making a wish on a  _donut_." At this she'd fallen into a giggle fit, tears of mirth twinkling at the corners of her eyes. "It's so  _different_ … I love that!"

Emma stared.  _Human…?_  She couldn't be sure whether or not a tornado had fallen upon this bench and sent her to a different realm when she wasn't looking.

"Usually you wish on stars, or put candles on cakes, right?" The woman sobered up with a slight apologetic smile as she peered at Emma. "But when Greg wishes on cake, he has a lot of people crowd around to watch…"

Rounding the bench, she stood towering before Emma in all her enormous cherubic glory, her face alight with awkward wonder.

"So I thought maybe I'd join you in case you needed someone."

From this angle, it was easier to see just how gigantic this woman was. Emma had never seen anyone this tall in her entire life (she had to be even taller than Andre the Giant). But she had seen the look in this woman's eyes before. It was the same look she'd see in the police station when a detective was trying to figure out who she was, or where she belonged. Where they would put her next.

"I don't need anyone," she mumbled under her breath, turning her gaze to her lap.

"I see," came the giantess's voice, gentle and calm. "What's your name?"

Slowly she looked back up, surreptitiously studying a moonlike face. So many of her instincts were telling her not to fall prey to warmth and kind words, and yet she wasn't even sure the figure standing in front of her was real.

"Emma," she said at last.

Quietly, the giantess sat down next to her on the bench. "Why are you all alone, Emma?"

The question was posed so softly that Emma couldn't help but hesitate. She glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, then frowned anew and resolutely stared ahead as she took a big bite out of her bear claw.

The woman wasn't deterred. A chuckle faded as her voice grew softer still. "Why wasn't your family with you when you made a wish?"

Emma looked down at the hand that lightly fell over both of hers. "Don't have one."

She was a little surprised at how easily the truth slipped past her lips. That was what they all wanted to hear, in the end – that she was some homeless orphan they could take off the streets and put back into the system and dust off their hands at a job well done. She guessed she just didn't want to waste another second. More importantly, did she even care anymore?

Her answer seemed to puzzle the giantess as well.

"You don't have a family?" She blinked, as if caught off-guard by such a thing. "But all humans have parents, don't they? Especially younger humans."

"Not all of them," Emma said, bitterly playing along. Maybe she'd hit her head when she jumped from the train and now she was dreaming. "Some parents die – or, you know, in my case, abandon their child by the side of the road with only a name and a blanket."

The giantess gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "An orphaned human...!"

It was her patronizing coo that made Emma finally snap. She'd heard it so many times in "well-meaning" strangers before and she was sick of it.

"Why do you keep specifying 'human' like you're not?" she asked abruptly, snapping her head over to squint at her. "What are you, some kind of alien or something? Who  _are_ you?"

Though Emma's brusqueness took her aback at first, the woman smiled graciously at her in return.

"Of course, how rude of me," she said with a good-natured laugh. "No, I'm not a human. I'm Rose. Rose Quartz. I'm a Crystal Gem—" she gestured to the rose-colored gem where her belly button should be, "and though alien has been used to describe us before… no, the Earth is my home. It's where I belong."

Emma cast Rose a lingering sidelong stare, briefly eyeing the woman's gem. Why had she thought it was just some big navel piercing? She didn't really know. There was just something about this place that she was willing to go along with anything.

"Well, at least you have a home," she replied, raising her half-eaten bear claw to her lips.

"Isn't Earth your home too?" Rose asked, head tilted with a prompting smile.

Emma snorted. "Pretty broad definition of the word."

"Maybe so," Rose said agreeably. She clasped her hands in her lap and sat with Emma in companionable silence for a minute or two while they watched the tide roll in.

This was kind of nice. Peaceful. Presently Emma wondered if she'd gotten the wrong idea about Rose. Even if the woman tried to turn her in or something, authorities would be much more interested in a giant person with a gemstone stomach.

Seriously, what was up with that thing?

"You must have quite a story," said Rose, breaking into her thoughts. Emma side-eyed her but Rose didn't break her serene gaze out over the ocean. "No home, no family, just a young girl sitting on the beach making a wish." She laughed lightly and picked up the discarded star candle. "I've never seen you here before, Emma. What kind of adventure brought you here to Beach City? I bet it's been  _exciting._ "

Emma laughed too, hers more dry and humorless. "Sure, if you call being dragged in front of a moving car exciting."

Rose startled at this, turning to her with bewildered worry. "What do you mean?"

A sigh from Emma. She'd started pouring her heart out already, might as well keep going. For all her oddities, Rose was at least a good listener.

"I had a home before," she admitted. "I mean, they weren't really homes. Just places to keep kids like me off the street until we aged out of the system or someone decided they actually wanted one of us."

"The system," Rose repeated, a more serious expression creasing her features. "That doesn't sound like a very nice place for children."

"It's not." Emma swallowed another piece of bear claw. "They put you in there when there's no one else to take you. And then they forget about you. Your best chance is if you're really young and cute. Like, there was this one couple, and they took me in when I was a baby but three years later they had their own kid so they sent me back."

Rose gave a small, sharp intake of breath, and her eyebrows furrowed in a state of offended confusion. Which was honestly much better than mindless pity. It was like she actually heard the injustice in the situation. Like it personally wounded her too.

Encouraged, but no less dour, Emma toed at the sand beneath their feet as she went on.

"When you're an orphan in the system, you might as well be invisible," she said. "Sometimes people pretend to care about you but they don't. You're an afterthought. After the younger cuter kids, after their own. I ran away a few times but I'd get caught and brought back. Out of sight, out of mind, you know?"

"Yeah," Rose said quietly. "They only notice you when you've done something wrong."

Emma hesitated, looking at her curiously. "Exactly…"

"They just want you to know your place and stay out of the way."

Silence fell between them just as heavily as that truth. Emma put away her bear claw and curled up the paper bag, setting it on the other side of the bench. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves.

"This other couple took me in almost a year ago," she continued, fingering the fringe of her blanket. "They had two sons already, so it wasn't like they couldn't have their own kids. One day we were all packing to go on a camping trip together… I actually thought I was going to be part of their happy family."

She chuckled bitterly and clutched the fabric in her clenched fists, even now shaking her head at her own naivety.

"But then someone from my past who… pretended to be my friend, she – she tricked me and came in and stole their vacation money. And then the couple said to me, 'You endangered our children' and I knew. I knew I was never one of them. I was just there to make them feel like good people." She wrinkled her nose, clenching her teeth as she felt pinpricks of tears start up. "So I did what was best for everyone, and I just  _ran_."

"And they didn't care enough to stop you," Rose murmured, more to the sky than to Emma.

"Too much trouble." Emma shrugged. "They probably eventually reported me missing or as a runaway, I guess, since they had to. Because the cops found me a week later and sent me to another foster home with this lady named Ingrid."

Emma winced at the memories that came with the mention of her name. It was one thing to think of her in passing, but another to speak of her like she might be nearby to hear it.

"And she was pretty cool, or so I thought," she continued with a wry grin. "She stood up for me to this one kid and let me prank him with fake spiders."

Rose laughed merrily. "She sounds like fun." There was a knowing twinkle in her eye.

Emma could only nod at this; in spite of everything, the least she could say about Ingrid was that she'd been fun.

"We did everything together. Staying up late drinking cocoa, listening to music, playing games at arcades and carnivals…" Emma drew a heavy breath, remembering when life had finally started to look up. "She was even filling out the paperwork for adoption."

"What's that?" Rose asked, sounding intrigued.

"It's when you legally – officially – become someone's parent or guardian," Emma told her matter-of-factly. "Not like a foster home. You're family and it's permanent. Or it's supposed to be."

Rose's whole face lit up, literal stars returning to her eyes. "You can do that?" she breathed. "Be a mother to a child even if you didn't create it yourself?"

"In Ingrid's case, she wanted to be like my big sister," Emma recalled. "But yeah, we were going to be a family."

The woman continued to look happy, and then the stars faded. "I suppose, since you're here, that didn't work out very well."

"Not at all, really," Emma replied with a scoff, "considering a week later she dragged me in front of an oncoming car that almost killed me."

Rose gaped at her, horrified. "Why would she do something like that?"

Rolling her eyes, Emma bunched up the fabric of her blanket. "She thought I had magical powers or something. Wanted me to use them to stop the car."

Rose gave her a thorough once-over, studying her intensely as if searching for something in particular. "Do you?"

Emma squinted back at her, a little bemused at the wonder in her voice. She was serious…? Well, she  _was_ talking to a woman with a gemstone embedded in her stomach.

"I wish," she confessed after a beat, and reached for her backpack. The stick wand from earlier was poking through a small unzipped hole. She fished it out and examined it thoughtfully. "I ran away after that because she was obviously crazy. But it's not like it wouldn't be cool if it were true. Sometimes I do wish my life was like Harry Potter, and one day a Hagrid would come along and tell me I'm someone special."

"But you  _are_ special," Rose insisted, placing a hand over hers. "You're a human being. That in itself is extraordinary. I…" She managed a wistful smile, something faraway and nostalgic with a hint of pain. "We gems, where I come from we all have a specific purpose… build, lead, serve, look beautiful, tell the future. And that's all we're ever meant to do with our lives, for thousands of years. We're told who we are and that's who we are."

She turned more fully to face Emma, squeezing her hands in hers.

"But you – you fight for your life. For a voice, and a bigger purpose. For somewhere to belong." Her eyes grew sad and cut to the side. "I know it must be hard to feel lost your whole life. To feel like you have to run."

Then, as suddenly as her somberness had come, it was replaced with a warm and mellow fondness.

"I'm glad that it brought you here."

Emma glanced around at everything – at the Big Donut behind them, the beautiful starlit beach, the boardwalk and city lights – and let herself smile as she looked back to Rose. "I'm glad too."

Rose raised her eyebrows at her almost encouragingly.

"Maybe, you could… belong  _here_ …?"

Before Emma could answer, a male voice rang out in the distance. "Hey, Rose!"

Both Rose and Emma glanced instinctively towards the source, where a guy possibly in his mid-twenties had come around the corner and was loping across the beach towards them. He had waist-length wild brown hair and was wearing a black t-shirt with torn sleeves and a huge gold star in the middle. Guy looked like he belonged in an 80s rock music video.

"Rose!" he repeated, stopping to catch his breath once he'd reached them. "What's the big idea? I've been alone with the three stooges for fifteen minutes!"

"Sorry, Greg," Rose said in almost a singsong voice, her demeanor instantly changing into a different type of sugar and sunbeams as she gazed lovingly at him. She stood up, and when Emma did as well, the woman gestured over to her. "I was just making a new friend."

Greg's gaze shifted and he offered Emma a friendly smile. "Oh, hey. Sorry to barge in and interrupt like that." He extended his hand. "Name's Greg Universe!"

"Emma. Swan." They shook.

"We don't see a lot of new faces outside of tourist season," said Greg, scratching at his hair. "Did you just move here with the folks?"

"Actually, she's here by herself," Rose said before she could answer, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Greg's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Not that it's any of my business, but aren't you a little young to be off on your own?" he asked, and spared Rose a mild look of alarm. "Are you emancipated from your parents or something?"

" _Greeeeg_ ," Rose chided with a small gasp. "She doesn't have any!"

Emma cringed, looking back and forth between the two. She was starting to regret telling a stranger her whole entire sob story. Yes she felt like she could trust Rose not to go to the authorities, but what about this guy?

Though, he looked just as awkward and curiously apologetic. He seemed cool if not a bit concerned – you just never knew with some people.

"No parents? Guardians?" Greg asked, looking hugely uncertain and rubbing the back of his head. "What are you, fifteen? Sixteen? And you're just living on the street – is there a shelter or something? I feel like we should call someone—"

"No!" Emma blurted out. "Please… please, don't turn me in."

Wide-eyed Rose squeezed her arm protectively and gave Greg a troubled frown.

"Did you know they put orphaned human children in a  _system_?" she said conspiratorially. "They grow up feeling lonely, and unwanted, and invisible. That's no way for anyone to live. Greg, we can't let her go back there."

Greg quickly put up both hands in surrender. "Hey, believe me, I'm not the type of guy to judge or narc. I went out on my own when I was pretty young myself. But she's just a kid. Nobody needs to go to the cops – I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't do something."

Rose nodded, determination glinting in her eyes as she looked to Emma.

"If she needs a place to stay, she can stay here at the temple! I'm sure it wouldn't be any trouble," she said with a decisive nod. "Would you like that?"

The offer made Emma blink twice in bewilderment. Was all of this real? Was this really happening?

"Rose, the temple isn't really a great shelter for humans," Greg said awkwardly. "It's almost November, and it gets really cold at night. That's kind of why I sleep in the van when I stay over."

"Oh, right," Rose chuckled ruefully, and then her eyes once again grew bright. "The van!  _Greg_ , is there enough room? Maybe she can stay with you in the van!"

Greg looked like a deer caught in headlights at the suggestion. "What?!"

"Come on, it would be fun! Then when you visit, I would get to see both of you."

"I really don't think letting a teenage girl sleep in my van with me would go over well with other people," Greg said weakly, pushing his bangs from his forehead.

Rose pouted. "Why not?"

"Tell you what, I'll talk to you about it sometime."

"Fine," Rose said with a sigh, and looked considering. "How about the car wash?"

"I dunno…"

"Um, guys?" Emma piped up, rubbing awkwardly at her wrist. "You really don't have to go to that much trouble for me. I didn't mean to get you guys tied up in my life or anything. I've always done fine on my own."

Both Greg and Rose turned to look at her in surprise, Greg's expression unsure and Rose's kind.

"But you're not alone anymore, Emma," said Rose, putting her hands on her shoulders and looking down at her kindly. "You're my friend, so please don't run away this time because I want to see you again. I want to care for you. I meant what I said – you could belong here, in Beach City." And then, in a quieter voice, "Do you want to stay?"

Emma faltered. This place still felt too unreal, did she dare get attached?

"Maybe," she said. "I don't want to go back."

"You don't have to," Rose said firmly. "We'll find you a place to stay. You won't ever have to worry about going back into the system again."

"How do you know?" Emma asked, refusing to put on the rose-tinted glasses. "How do you know someone won't suddenly decide to report the poor homeless orphan to the authorities? How—"

"Hold on a second," said Greg, the pensive look on his face transforming into a brilliant grin. "If you need someone who'll fight the man and go against the system, I think I know the perfect person." He flashed a thumbs up and a wink. "And she happens to be  _very_ hospitable."

Emma and Rose shared a glance, then fixed him with simultaneous questioning stares. Apparently even Rose didn't know what he was talking about.

Greg, however, remained cheerful as he led a march towards the boardwalk. "Emma, grab your bag. I have someone I'd like you to meet."

After Emma picked up her things, Greg led her and Rose down the boardwalk, past a t-shirt shop and promising food joints like Fish Stew Pizza and Beach Citywalk Fries. Then they headed a couple of blocks through town until they reached a quaint blue house with a purple curtain in place of a garage door. Greg walked up onto the front step and rang the doorbell.

Moments later, the front door opened to reveal a woman Greg's age with long blonde hair and a black leather jacket over what looked like a work shirt. She snapped a gum bubble at him, looking only vaguely surprised to see him.

"Greg," she said calmly. "I hardly recognized you without my couch under your butt. I actually see more of Amethyst than you these days."

"Hey Vidalia." Greg leaned against the doorframe trying to look cool. "Is this a good time?"

The woman shrugged. Then her gaze flicked past him in mild interest. "Who's the kid?"

"About that." Greg chanced a look over his shoulder at Emma, then turned to Vidalia with a sheepish smile. "As long as we're on the topic of past generosities… I'd kind of like to call in a huge favor?"

Crossing her arms, Vidalia lost her unamused frown and regarded Emma with a raised eyebrow. She popped her gum again.

"I'm listening."


End file.
